As all of you are aware, President Obama was reelected in the 2012 elections. (And if you weren’t aware, I’m happy I could be the one to inform you.) Whether or not you voted for him or not I’m sorry through the news, Facebook and Twitter and just casual conversation you have picked up on the fact that our country is discontented. In fact, if you look at one of the maps that show dots of who voted for whom, it is a sea of red and blue showing how divided our country became in this election.

Though I have mixed feelings about the election—and would have no matter who was elected—for me, the election is over. I don’t really focus on it and try to think positive despite the dire predictions and nay-saying of others. Today I learned that petitions that began in Louisiana have been circling and other states have joined in the movement to be secede from the United States. Residents in over thirty states are signing such petitions, and once it reaches 25,000 signatures a response will be required from the white house. States such as Louisiana and Texas have already met this goal.

I don’t know, during the last election I was pregnant so I didn’t focus on it as intently as I did this time. I don’t remember things being this hectic after the election, or the situation being so volatile. Maybe it was and I was too wrapped up in my own life. Either way, I am both curious and concerned about this turn of events. It could lead to nothing, perhaps. Or it could lead to a very scary new reality. My home is in Alabama, one of the states signing the petition. If it were to leave the United States, what could I do but move if I wanted to stay?

What do you think would stop this? Is it just about President Obama, or is there more behind it?

Comments

15 Responses to “States Leaving the Union”

boobybaby on
December 3rd, 2012 4:29 pm

This too shall pass.

Pixi6s on
December 3rd, 2012 6:58 pm

People need to grow up.

Rdesonia on
December 3rd, 2012 7:37 pm

I think it less about “the man” himself and more about the state of the economy, raising national debt, the impending failure of social security, and legal/financial ramifications of “Obamacare”. (Many people see this as the Federal government havign a new power…. The power to TAX inactivity. Forcing citizens to make a private purchase or pay a tax. All the while, the cost of insurance is going up and coverages are going down.) The fact that congress has failed to pass a budget in 3 years or so and federal spending is going up. There are more people on welfare, foodstamps, and other social aid than ever before. Gas and food prices are rising yet job opportunity is declining. Our borders are not secure and many people feel that the government is going to give blanket amnesty to all illegals. The incident in Libya is surrounded with misinformation and questions. It is many factors that are leading to discontentment overall with the federal government by people.

Personally, I don’t think there will be an actual secession. This is just a symbolic measure to voice discontent. I don’t think there is any real chance that any state will actually secede. Nor do I think that a petition has any legal validity. The only way to secede would be for there to be an actual election (Vote) in each state that would declare their sovereignty.( Such votes were stopped in Alaska and Texas in the past.)

Krista on
December 3rd, 2012 9:39 pm

This is very informative. Thank you for your points, Rdesonia! And thanks for reading.

Meighan on
December 3rd, 2012 10:07 pm

I am by no means an expert on this, but my understanding is this: the largest oil deposit IN THE WORLD is located in North America straddling the US and Canada. This oil is the best kind of oil you can find. It needs minimal refining, and tapping into it has the potential to COMPLETELY eliminate our national debt in something like under a decade, maybe even less. We would be free of the stronghold China has on us, dangerous countries like Iran would be weakened without our money going to them, and thousands and thousands of jobs would be created right here in the US. We don’t have another four years to wait on this, we need to move now. Secession (at least in the states where the oil is) would send a clear message to the white house. It isn’t a real threat in my opinion because the military advantage would obviously lie with the US and not with the seceded state, but as I said it would certainly make quite a political statement. For me, the real question is why the heck wouldn’t Obama give the ok to do this? I understand the long term goal is green energy, but those types of energy need time to be implemented efficiently into our current energy infrastructure. These oil reserves are an amazing opportunity for our country right now both financially and in terms of weakening Iran’s revenue stream, thus weakening their nuclear arms programs. Without saying much more, my fil worked for years at the pentagon, and currently has above top secret security clearance. He knows things that very few people in the country know, and I trust his opinion on these things. He is VERY concerned about the current administrations foreign policy and handling of the military, and has a pretty bleak outlook for the next 4 years. I certainly am worried as well.

mibarra on
December 4th, 2012 9:10 am

I think there is a feeling of discontent and disillusionment in a generation that hasn’t felt that before. I don’t know what will happen. The great thing about America is people can voice their opinions on this without fear of retribution. The sad thing is people think the right to voice their opinions entitles them to be rude, mean, and bigoted because we have ‘free speech’. I’m very interested to see what happens. I think a lot of people don’t realize how complicated the situation truly is, it’s not as simple as who is elected president. Certainly some things we are doing aren’t working and need to change. The problem is nobody can agree how…

kdailey0901 on
December 4th, 2012 3:18 pm

There was an event a long time ago where some states wanted to form their own country. What was that called? Let me think oh yea it was the CIVIL WAR!!! It started out the same way. Some states were not happy about the way the country was being ran and wanted to form their own nation. It’s the same thing happening now except the issue isn’t slavery, it’s the economy. When history is not learned from it tends to be repeated. I would not be surprised if our country was in another civil war in the next 10 years.

Krista on
December 4th, 2012 9:34 pm

This was one of my first thoughts also, and I have to say that I am inclined to agree with you. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!

MoccaMom on
December 5th, 2012 6:28 pm

Ummm…sour grapes?

caseyheather123 on
December 7th, 2012 10:24 am

If states did manage to secede from the union it’s not like we would be our own country, but more along the lines of states having there own laws and we would still be part of America and militaries would stay together.

andivebeen on
December 8th, 2012 8:25 pm

Civil Wars don’t happen in democratized nations- that is considered to be one of the best features of a democracy. Democracy works. Obama was re-elected with both the majority vote and electoral vote, unlike our previous president who lost the majority vote (but stil became president after Supreme Court ruling). Secession has been proven illegal again and again (this “threat” is also not new). I believe what we are seeing is a very active and very VOCAL minority of people who are great at creating a ruckus but are ineffective at coming up with solutions. The press/media is very famously called the “fourth branch of government” and has historically been a great source of information, and more important, philosophy. We don’t have that now. Now we have a little bit of information (always biased in some way, but that’s not new either) and a lot of entertainment. Talks about secession, civil war, conspiracy theories, etc etc are all divisive subjects and sell newspapers (which need all the help they can get!) but they don’t reflect reality. The world of politics and government, especially on a national level is both far more complex and far more juvenile than most Americans could believe. When it really comes down to it, those same politicians who are smearing each other all over TV and newspapers are back at The Monocle on D street knocking back shots and taking pictures of their weeners in the bathroom to text back to their interns and pages…which, other than the advancement of technology, is also not new. So yes, one could certainly say that history repeats itself, though not always in ways one fears.

cathplyr on
December 9th, 2012 7:59 pm

we will be a third world country in no time. wasnt this once the land of freedom & opportunity & wealth? I bet our founding fathers wouldnt recognize this mess of a nation. the last civil war was about slavery and the next one will be too. how much do you pay in home taxes? in income taxes? the tax to opt out of healthcare if you dont want it? we are being taxed to death people. we ARE the slaves. Why do we have to give our earnings away that we work for? and the slavedrivers are fooling us all into thinking we are free. we are being robbed of all our freedoms.

Rdesonia on
December 10th, 2012 2:06 pm

The reason for the civil war was NOT SLAVERY! Abraham Lincoln did NOT ever say during his election that he was going to abolish slavery. (He was against the expansion of Slavery into new territories but said he would not do anything to change anything in current states) The abolishment of slavery was done mid-war to weaken the South (2 years into the war).

The real reason for the Civil War was the issue of States rights-vs-Federal power. Abraham Lincoln won the electoral vote but NOT the popular vote. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1860
The fact that not one state in the south voted for him yet he won the election further led to discontent as many felt they were being taxed without representation. His election was the “spark” that led to States leaving the Union.

The Fort Sumter Major(commander) refused to evacuate or surrender before Lincoln was inaugurated. The state of South Carolina fired a warning shot a boat going to give supplies. Then they fired 3 more shots but did not sink the boat. Nobody was killed.(In Jan, the Confederate Government was not formed yet and Lincoln was not president.) In April after Lincoln wad president the Confederates offered to “buy” all Federal property in their states but Lincoln refused. This fort was located at the opening of the Charleston bay.(A place used for commerce) Lincoln sent in a supply ship. South Carolina bombarded the Fort and both sides fired at each other for like a day and a half! Nobody died in the battle! Later 2 “union” soldiers died as a result of an accident during the surrender ceremony. Because of the Battle, both sides started calling for volunteers and making war preparations. More states joined the Confederacy because of the incident. This is usually considered the first battle of the Civil War.
I know that many people are taught in school that slavery was the reason for the war. I think this is done to make the South look like villains. In reality, slavery was abolished in New York only 30 years before the Civil War! Eventually, the abolishment of slaves would have happened. In many states, you could not just free a slave of any age. The person had to be young, able bodied, have a “trade” (skill) and leave the state. This was done so that slave owners would not “free” elderly, sick, or others that would end up beggars or living in poor houses. (Poor houses were often ran by local county/city government at the expense of the tax payers thus many areas had provisions that the person had to leave the area) These were very different times and the people that put those laws in place were doing so to “protect” the slaves from abuse, neglect, and abandonment. However the laws made it hard to give blanket freedom. Also you could not “hire” your former slave as they were required by law to leave. So if a plantation owner set all slaves free, they would have a very hard time finding people to hire as labor.
Obviously this is a very emotionally charged issue. Slavery was wrong. But at the time, it was not just a moral right or wrong issue. It was a tangled mess of economic concerns, laws, political and social pressure.

Rdesonia on
December 10th, 2012 2:06 pm

So sorry that was so long!

BabyCentric on
December 10th, 2012 4:51 pm

I think a lot of people have strong opinions based on misconceptions. I highly doubt we will become a third world country, especially not based on taxes since Americans are among the least taxed citizens of advanced industrial nations. I also don’t understand this debate about freedom. What freedoms have we lost that we had eight years ago? Or ten? Or twenty? If anything freedoms have been granted to people who haven’t enjoyed them in the past. The biggest mystery to me is that the states threatening to secede from the union are among those who receive the most federal funding. As a matter of fact, Louisiana is number 2 (behind Florida)! I guess hating the Federal Government doesn’t stop them from receiving massive funding from it.

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